Work holding and feeding device for grinding or polishing machines



Aug. 3 1926.

J. C. BLEVNEY WORK HOLDING AND FEEDING DEVICE FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING MACHINES v Fild August 30 1920 2 sheets-sheet 1 J. C. BLEVNEY WORK HOLDING AND FEEDING DEVICE FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING MACHINES Filed August 30, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i w w.

Patented Au 3, 1926. f

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OHN BLEV'NEY, 0F BRONXVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 1'0 PRODUCTION MACHINE COMPANY, SETTS.

0F GREENFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION. OF MASSACHIF.

WORK HOLDING AND FEEDING DEVICE FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING HACHINESH Application filed 'August so, 1920. sem No. 406,858.

The present invention relates to machines for grinding or polishing articles of cylindrical form, and more particularly to work holding and feeding devices for such machines.

The invention is especially adapted for use in connection with machines of the type known as centreless grinding or polishing machines in which the work is supported upon its peripheral surface instead of upon centres. As commonly constructed, machines of this particular type are provided with an abrasive wheel, and with a work support for holding the article to beoperated upon with its cylindrical surface engaging the abrasive element. The abrasive element is driven at a relatively .high speed to grind or polish the work which rotates at a relatively low speed while it is being operated upon. Provision is commonly made for automatically feeding the work in a longitudinal direction as it is being rotated so that its surface will be ground or polished throughout its entire length.

One object of the invention is to provide certain improvements in machines of the above named general character tending to render them more efiicient in operation than those heretofore constructed, and capable of being quickly and accurately adjusted to operate upon different articles.

.With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent from the following specification, the invention resides in features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, the advantages of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation, of the lower portion of a polishing and finishing machine of the endless abrasive belt type embodying the present invention in what is now considered its preferred form; Fig. 2 is a view partly in I section, in Side elevation and on an enlarged scale, of the work holding and feeding device as seen from the opposite side of the machine from' that illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view, in front elevation, of the parts shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line H of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig, 1 of the drawings, the machine 1s provlded with an abrasive belt 6 which passes over the backing or cushioning belt v7, while the latter in turn passes over a pair of pulleys 8 and 9 which are arranged one above the other at one side of a 'frame or standard 10. The upper portion ofthe abrasive belt 6 extends above the cushioning belt 7 and is supported. by a third pulley (not shown) which is mounted at the top of the standard 10. Both belts 6 and 7 are driven through the pulley 9 which is fast upon the main shaft 11 and is journaled in bearings inthe lower portion of the standard 10. The main shaft 11 is adapted to be connected with any suitable source of power, whereby it may be rotated continuously during the operation of the machine at a high rate of speed and in a direction to cause the front stretches of the belts 6 and 7 to travel downwardly. The pulleys 8 and 9 and the third pulley (not shown) at the top of the machine are all arranged to rotate in the same vertical plane, and the front stretches of the abrasive and cushioning belts are maintained in contact with each other. 1

In Figs. 1 and 2 the article to be polished consists of a cylindrical tube which is indicated at 12. The work 12 is positioned horizontally with a portion of its cylindrical surface in contact with the downwardly moving abrasive belt 6 and is supported by means of the improved work holdin feeding device embodying the present 1nvention, said device being indicated generally at 14 in Fig. 1. vAs best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the work holding and feeding device comprises essentially a work' rest 15 which engages the under side of the work, and a work supporting and feeding roller 16 which engages the work on the opposite side from the abrasive belt. The roller 16 is rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the abrasive belt and at a much slower speed, and operates to turn the work slowly while the latter is being ground or polished. In order that the work will be fed longitudinally as it is rotated, provision is made for tilting the roller 16 longitudinally so that its periphery will travel obliquely across the cylindrical surface of the work. To cause the abrasive belt to be uniformly held against the cylindrical surface of the work during the grinding or and polishing operation, a pair of platen bars-18 and 19, which are mounted upon a carrier 20,-extend transversel across the inner face of the cushioning be t 7, above and below the work respectively. These platen bars are actuated under the control of the operator by any suitable mechanism to yieldingly press the cushioning and abrasive belts of the work and serving in conjunction with said roller to sup ort the work. The work rest 15 is arrange to engage the work along a line extending along its cylindrical surface, between the vertical axial plane thereof and its area 'of contact with the abrasive belt, in order to prevent the work from being wedged between said belt and the work rest and to lessen the tendency of the rapidly traveling abrasive belt to rotate the work instead of polishing it. In order to adapt the work rest to properly support pieces of work of various sizes the work rest is mounted with provision for adjustment both vertically and toward and from the abrasive belt, as will be hereinafter explained.

The feed roller 16 comprises a plurality of flat narrow rings 22 ig. 3) of leather or othersuitable material. The rings 22 are assembled in side by side relationship i 23 respectively.

upon a bushing 23, betweena head 24 which is formed atone end of the bushing, and a retainer ring 25 which. is fitted onto the opposite end thereof. The component rings 22 of the feed roller are tightly clamped together by means of a nut"26 which 'is threaded onto the end ofthe bushing. The feed roller 16 is journeled upon. a rod 28 which extends through the bushing 23, the opposite ends of the rod being secured in the side walls of a frame or housing 30 which partially encloses the feed roller. The feed roller is driven from a shaft 31 (Fig. 2) whichxis journaled in bearings in the side walls of the housing 30 and is connected with the feed roller by means of intermeshing gear wheels 32 and 33 which are secured to the shaft 31 and to the bushing One end of the shaft 31 projects beyond the housing 30 and has secured thereto a grooved pulley 34 over which passes a rope belt 35 which is driven through connections (not shown) from the driving shaft of the machine.

In order that the feed roll 16 may be tilted axially so as to feed the work longitudinally, the feed roll housing 30 is mounted for angular or tilting adjustment about a horizontal axis normal to the axis of the feed roll. To this end the feed roll h0us ing is provided with a pair of axially alined bearings 36 (Fig. 4) which are adapted to receive a pair of trunnions'37 which project laterally from opposite sides of the reduced upper portion of a post 38, the latter being secured by means of a bolt 39 to a bracket 40 which is rigidly but adjustably supported, as will hereinafter appear. To permit the trunnions 37 to be received in the bearings 36, each of said bearings is made in two parts, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, divided along a horizontal axial plane and secured together by screws 41.

To provide for angular adjustment of the feed roll 16, the feed roll housing 30 is provided with a pair of lugs 43 (Fig. 3) which depend obliquely from the rear portion of the housing upon opposite sides of the post 38. Adjusting bolts 44 severally extend through the lugs 43. the inner ends of the bolts engaging inclined bearing faces 45 which are formed on the opposite sides of the upper portion of the post 38. By manipulating the adjusting bolts 44, the feed roll housing may be angularly adjusted to impart the required degree of inclination to the feed roll. The extent of tilting adjust ment of the feed roll housing toward either" side of a yertical position is limited by the engagement of the under face of one or the other of the lugs 43 with the corresponding bearing face 45 on the post 38.

In order to adapt the machine to operate upon cylindrical articles of different diameters, provision is made for adjusting the' feed roll 16 both vertically and horizontally with respect to the abrasive belt. To this end the bracket 40 which carries the feed roll housing is secured by means of bolts 47 to the upright web of an angle iron beam 48 which is secured to the upper end of a vertical post 49 (Fig. 2). The post 49, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 5, extends through a guideway formed in a bracket 50, the guideway being split, as indicated at 51, and provided with a clamping bolt 52 by means of which the guideway may be contracted to clamp the post in the bracket. The bracket 50 is supported upon a stationary horizontal post 53 which projectsforwardly from the standard 10 and extends through a guideway which is formed in a bracket at right angles to the guideway which receives the vertical post 49, the first mentioned guideway being split, as indicated at 55 (Fig. 5) and provided witha clamping bolt 56 b means of which the bracket 50 may be c amped to the post 53. By loosening the clamping bolts 52 and 56, the post 49 may be shifted longitudinally in the bracket 50 and the bracket 50 may be shifted lat erally upon the post 53, and inthis way the feed roll 16 may be readily adjusted both vertically and horizontally. The feed roll may be firmly secured in adjusted position by tightening said clamping bolts. Ordinarily the belt 35 will not interfere with the tilting or with the vertical adjustment of the feed roll, but obviously a belt tightener may be employed to take up or let out slack in the belt as may be required to permit free adjustment of the feed roll.

As the feed roll 16 is adjusted toward or from the abrasive belt to accommodate different sized pieces of work, it becomes necessary to raise or lower the work rest 15 in order that the work may be supported at substantially the same elevation irrespective of its diameter. It is also necessary to adjust the work rest horizontally toward or from the feed roll to position it properly with respect to the vertical axial planes of different sized pieces of work. To this end the work rest is mounted as will now be described. The lower portion of the work rest is riveted t0 the beveled edge 59 (Fig. 2) of a work rest carrier or plate 60 so as to be disposed at a slight angle to the plane of said plate. The carrier plate 60 is secured to a carrier plate support 62 by means of a pair of bolts 63 which extend through transverse slots (it in the carrier plate and are threaded into an upwardly projecting web 65formed at the forward end of said support, the slots permitting the upward or downward adjust ment of the work rest relatively to the support 62. The work rest carrier support 62 comprises a pair of parallel arms 66 (see also Fig. 3) which are connected by a web 65 and are disposed at right angles thereto. The arms 66 are secured to an inclined portion of the bracket 40 upon which the feed roller-housing is mounted, by means of a pair of screws 68, which severally depend from the under side of each arm 66, the screws extending through slots 69 in the bracket 40 and being provided with clamping nuts 7 0 which engage the under side of the bracket and clamp the support 62 in position thereon. The slots 69 permit adjustment of the support 62 relatively to the bracket 40 while the slots 64 permit adjustment of the work rest carrier 60 with respect to the support 62. On -account of the inclination of the bracket 40 and of the web 65 of the support 62, each of the above described adjustments cause the work rest to be shifted both vertically and horizontally. With this construction, by loosening both the bolts 63 and the nuts 70, the desired adjustment of the work rest may be readily and accurately obtained.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the work rest and the feed roll are adapted to be adjusted horizontally and vertically both with relation to each other andvvith relation to the abrasive belt, while the inclination of the feed roll with respect to the work is capable of being adjusted to vary the rate of longitudinal feed of the latter or to cause the work to be fed the invention as set forth in the appended,

claims.

The invention having been described, What is claimed as new is 1. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an endless abrasive belt for engaging the peripheral face of the work, means for supporting and driving said belt, a stationary work rest of less width than the diameter of the work located adjacent the face of the belt and having a Work supporting surface extending substantially the width of the belt and adapted to engage the peripheral face of the work along a line parallel to the face of the belt, and means for engaging the work on the opposite side from the belt, and tiltingly adjustibha about an axis intersecting the abrasive 2. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an endless abrasive belt for engaging the peripheral face of the work, means for supporting and driving said belt, a stationary work rest of less width than the diameter of the work and having a work engaging surface extending at right angles to the length of the belt for supportgage the work along a line normal to the direction of travel of the portion of the abrasive element in contact with the work, a feed roll having its axis oblique to the axis of the work for feeding the work in a longitudinal direction, and means for adjusting the inclination of the feed roll about an axis intersecting said roll to vary the rate of feed or to reverse the direction of feed.

4. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an. endless belt, means for supporting and driving the same, a rigid work rest having a single supporting surface rest for engaging the bottom surface stantially at right angles to the directionof travel of the adjacent ortion of the belt,'

a feed roll for engaging t e work on the opposite side from the belt, means for supporting the feed roll havin provision for varying the inclination of t c axis of the roll in a plane parallel with the face of the belt and about an axis intersecting the belt, and

means for driving the feed roll.

5. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an endless abrasive belt for engaging the peripheral face of the work,'means for supporting and driving said belt, a fibre work rest of less width than the diameter of the. work and located adjacent the belt and having a work engaging surface extending substantially at right angles to the length of the belt, and a feed roll having its axis oblique to the axis of the Work for feeding the Work in a lateral direction.

' 6. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element, means for supportingand driving said element, means for supporting the work in position to be operated upon including a roll operating also to feed the work in a longitudinal direction while the work is being ground or polished, the feed roll being mounted on the opposite side of the work from the abrasive element and having provision for adjustment obliquely about an axis intersecting the abrasive element, for driving the feed roll.

7. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element,

and means means for supporting and driving said element, a work rest for supporting the work in position to be operated upon, a feed roll for rotating the work and feeding it in a longitudinal direction while it is being operated upon, the feed roll being mounted for adjustment obliquely in the direction ofthe length of the; work to vary the rate of Iongitudinal feed of the work, means for driving the feed roll, and means for adjusting the feed roll obliquely about an axis intersecting the feed roll and for rigidly securing it in adjusted position.

'8. In a machinefor grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element, means for supporting and driving'said ele- -ment, means for supporting the work in position to be ground. or polished comprising a work rest and a roller. the latter being adapted to feed the work longitudinally I while it is being ground or polished, and

means for supporting the feed roller and the work rest with provision for concurrent adjustment both horizontally and vertically as a unit.

9. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element, means for supporting and driving said element, means for supporting the work in position to-be ground or polished comprising a work rest and a roller, the latter being adapted to feed the work longitudinally while it is being ground or polished, a supporting bracket upon which the work rest and roller are mounted, the support being adjustable to move the work rest and the roller as a unit either vertically or horizon- -tally and the work rest being mounted for movement relatively to said support and obliquel with respect to the vertical axial plane 0 the work.

10. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element, means for supporting and driving said ele ment. means for supporting the work in po-' ing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element,v

means for supporting and driving said element, a work rest for supporting the work 4 in position to be operated upon, a roller opposite the abrasive element for feeding the work in a longitudinal direction, a housing partially enclosing said roller in which the latter is journaled, a support upon which the housing is pivotally mounted with provision for adjustment about an axis intersecting the roll.

12. In a machine for grinding or polishing cylindrical articles, an abrasive element, means for driving the abrasive element, means for supporting the work in position to be ground or polished comprising a work rest and a roller, the latter being adapted -to feed the work longitudinally while it is being ground or polished, and a common support for the work rest and roller having provision for simultaneous bodily. adjustment of the work rest and roller linearly with respect to the abrasive element.

JOHN G. BLEVNEY.

' Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,594,4 i5, granted August 3, 1926.. upon'the application of John C. Blevney, of Bronxville, New York, for an imrovement in Work Holding and Feeding Devices for Grinding or- Polishing achines, errors appear in the printed specification requiringcorrection as follows: Page 3, line 130, claim 4, strike out the ord rest; page 4:, line 34:, claim 6, after the word obliquely insert the Words with respect to the work; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Offiie.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of October,- A. D. 1926.

SEAL v. M. "J. MOORE,

Acting Commissioner of Pate tts. 

